Amazon Seeks to Impress with GameCircle

As you might already know, Amazon is about to release a feature called GameCircle to the Kindle Fire. GameCircle will provide video game developers with a range of cool new features, including the ability to add achievements, leaderboards, and cloud syncing to their games. And, even better, these features will be seamlessly tracked across multiple Kindle devices, which will be great for those who plan on purchasing the Kindle smartphone.

Amazon’s support of GameCircle is expected to encourage game development on the Kindle operating system. It’s also expected to allow Amazon to beat Apple at its own game. Apple already has a Game Center feature that developers can use, but it isn’t half as versatile as GameCircle. Instead of providing leaderboards and achievements, it simply adds cloud syncing for game developers.

If Amazon can beat Apple at its own game – literally – then it could generate the hype needed to promote the upcoming Kindle Fire 2 and the rumored Kindle smartphone. Now that video game developers have the incentive and tools needed to develop games for the Kindle Fire, all it takes is one ‘killer app’ or game to give the company a wave of momentum.

Expect to see GameCircle-powered Kindle games appear on the market shortly. Since Kindle Fires are built on the Android operating system, it should be easy to port existing Android games over to the Fire.

What does this news mean for gamers? It means that Kindle Fire games will be more functional than games on other mobile operating systems. Expect games to feature persistent saving across devices for score tracking and progress, as well as the ability to compare performance to other players, win awards, and receive updates while playing.

Amazon clearly means business in the mobile space. The ability to run apps and track progress across multiple devices could provide a huge boost to potential Kindle smartphone sales in the future. All signs point to a big device announcement towards the end of July, so stay tuned!